A few of our favorite things...

Before we had Karsten, we did a lot of shopping and guessing what kind of baby items we would need. We listened to a lot of advice and made a lot of purchases for the little guy.

Of course, I will always love buy his clothes and cute toys, but there are a few key items that have made our lives easier and Karsten very happy.

1. Vibrating bouncy swing- Eric's sister Jane purchased this for us. We use it for a huge portion of the day, every day. Karsten has acid reflux, and so we have to keep him upright for about 30 minutes after feeding and whenever he isn't napping. The incline on the swing lets us set him down for awhile and keeps him entertained. He often falls asleep in the swing and he loves the music it plays.

2. Dr. Brown's bottles- Because we are bottle-feeding Karsten with the milk I get from pumping, we had to find a good brand of bottles. His acid relux and gas has definitely declined since we started using these.

3. Nuk binkies- Karsten loves these. We have about 10 different brands, but these are the only ones he keeps in his mouth for an extended period of time. Plus, they are orthodontic.

4. Sleepy Sheep- The cute little stuffed sheep that plays nature sounds is perfect for Karsten's nap times. At night, we always have waves playing over our speakers but during the day the sheep helps keep the baby relaxed and fall asleep.

5. Baby Ka'tan sling- I love this thing!! It's a super easy to use sling that I can put on really quickly and secures Karsten while I'm walking around in the apartment or outside.

I'm sure as Karsten keeps growing we'll find more items that we all love :)

Back in the comforts of home

With Grandpa (my dad)

With Nana (my mom)

Dr. Seeker with a very sleepy Karsten post-circumsicion 

After a three day stay in the hospital, we made our way back to our apartment. My parents and sister were still in town, thankfully, and made our place a lot more comfortable. My mom cleaned and made us every meal and everyone pitched in holding Karsten and giving him lots of love. My dad of course already started spoiling him with clothes and a cute camo hat that says "Grandpa's Huntin Buddy." Perfect.

The first night back home, and all of the nights the first week, were terrifying.

Is the baby in our bed?!? No...that was just the dog moving.
Why is he crying?!? Hungry...again.
Why is my phone alarm going off at 3:45 am?!?! Time to feed the baby.
Stay awake, stay awake! You're still feeding the baby!

Ya, it was all new territory. After discovering that I wasn't producing enough milk, and a teary-eyed trip to the ER because I was worried he was starving, we started supplementing breast milk with formula. I set up a meeting with a lactation consultant and rented a pump.

I started pumping eight times a day for 15 minutes...hard to fit in when I'm with Karsten all day. It's been worth it though. He's having a lot more breastmilk and is a LOT less fussy.

Eric is the best daddy (and partner). Karsten loves when daddy holds him and rocks him.

Watching a Bob concert with daddy....

Unfortunately, Karsten also loves his binkie. It's a habit that we started and need to break asap. His favorite time to play "spit out the binkie then cry til mommy picks it up" happens to be from 1 am to 5 am....More updates on how sleep is going to follow.

From the hospital to our home...

The last pregnancy photo I took...right before Christmas mass on Dec. 24th

The first post is a little late (a little over two weeks late to be exact), but I want to start documenting Karsten's growth and exciting adventures while I have time (aka- baby's nap time).

So, let's start from the beginning...

The pregnancy was a whirlwind. Living in Seattle, I started working as a barista at Starbucks when I was 18 weeks pregnant. I had a pretty easy first and second trimesters, some morning sickness, mostly at night, and aching feet from working long hours standing up.

When I was 33 weeks, Eric got a job in Austin, TX and we loaded up his Tahoe and drove ourselves and our two dogs down to Texas.

At 36 weeks, I was offered a job at a software requirements firm working as a requirements analyst and I started immediately. Awkward timing to start a job, but it was a miracle that I got such a good job when I was so pregnant. I kept working until December 28th, and then the real fun began over the weekend.

That Sunday, my parents and sister flew down to Austin (that was my due date). When they arrived, I had been having mildly uncomfortable contractions but I didn't really notice them until nighttime. We went out to eat some Tex Mex...little did I know I was actually in labor. I had no appetite and the pain was getting worse as we sat at the restaurant. Eric and I decided to head to the hospital. The nurses put me in triage and my contractions weren't very close together. I was still only 1.5 cm dilated. So we started walking. For an hour and a half...in a circle. I was in crippling pain during the contractions. After all of that, I didn't dilate any more. So, they sent us home....with a dosage of Ambien that they wanted me to take so I could sleep through my early labor.

My parents came over to our apartment to take me to my 10 am appointment the next morning. Eric was at work, so they came with me to the doctor's. In the waiting room, the contractions increased. I told the receptionist...and they got me right into a room to monitor the strength of my contractions. Laying down in that room, I started having contractions that felt as though my insides were being ripped out. Poor nurse...I squeezed the crap out of her arm and screamed at the top of my lungs right in her face. The doctor came in, Dr. Seeker...the best in Austin, to check how dilated I was. Barely 2 cm. He sent me up to Labor and Delivery and told the nurse to get me an epidural immediately and start me on Pitocin. I had already been in labor for 15 hours, I wasn't dilating, and I was in excruciating pain.

Cool fact...as I was being wheelchaired to my room, my nurse let me in on a secret- Matthew McCaughnahay and his wife were in the suite a few doors down from me (hence the security guards and police on the floor). Pretty sweet!

After another 8.5 hours of labor (much more comfortable since the epidural!!) and a warning that if I didn't dilate anymore in the next hour, I would have to have a C-section....Dr. Seeker came in to check on us. Karsten's heartrate was dropping, and when the doctor checked I was 10 cm and the little baby was on his way out! That was the most overwhelming news...baby is coming....now! After ten minutes of pushing, our little man was in my arms. Eric cut the umbilical cord and my mom was in there as well. I had amazing support.